Wizarding Magic and Pureblood Pride
by callahan37
Summary: Clair Malfoy has it all. Looks, money, a big giant manor to live in. As she prepares to enter her seventh year at Hogwarts, she has no idea how different her life is going to become....
1. Chapter 1: Introductions

"Clarisse, go get your brother and come down here."

I rolled my eyes, dragging myself off the couch to go get my brother. My brother is the most annoying, self-centered git I know. Depending on whom you ask you'll get all sorts of answers; the most famous in the Slytherin house is 'the Slytherin Prince.'

"Draco, get your arse up and let's go. Mum wants us."

A head of white blonde hair, the exact shade of mine and our parents popped up from underneath the sheets.

"Well tell her to bug off."

Typical Draco Malfoy. Sometimes it's hard to believe we're related. Actually it's not i_that/i_ hard to believe. We're both stuck up (him more so than me), both love to buy things, both love quidditch, and both like to be the rich jerks we are. I at least have a little room in my system for respect.

"Zabini's here too you git. That's why we have to go downstairs."

Pansy was there too, and the two cows, but I wouldn't bother telling him that useful bit of information. He'd figure it out when he came downstairs. Then he'd probably want to murder me, but I was going shopping with my mother, so it didn't really matter at the moment.

He lugged himself out of bed and began to get dressed, my cue to get out of the room.

"He's coming mum, he's just being a bit of a bone-head about it."

My father looked up and gave me a sharp glance,

"Clarisse, don't call your brother names. If you can't control your tongue, I can always get the Dark Lord to fix it for you."

That was his threat for everything. I didn't ever take it seriously, but I did heed what he told me. It was Draco that he had to threaten and occasionally beat to get him to listen. My mother hated when he did that.

Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy all sat around the table, helping themselves to whatever they felt like. Crabbe and Goyal especially. They were disgusting to watch, and I don't think my mother particularly liked them.

"Can we go now Mum?"

School shopping was always fun. New robes to buy, clothes, books, notebooks, pet supplies. It was always fun to shop. A gift I inherited from my mother I suppose. My father was never very excited to go shopping, nor my brother. My brother was my father's duplicate in so many ways, morphed to be just like him. He was being raised to become a death eater, and I was being raised to be a good house wife someday.

That'll be an exciting life. About as exciting as my mother's life is now. At least I won't have to work though. The only downside is I'll be sure to be married off to some rich pureblood family. I'm pretty sure the highest candidates at this point are Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. Nothing against either of them, but I really don't like them in that way.

Draco came bouncing down the stairs to greet Blaise, and skidded to a stop when he saw the other three guests, Pansy especially. I have no idea what he sees in that girl, because she is the most disgusting, pig-faced girl I've ever seen. She's probably an easy shag for him. He's constantly going back and forth between girls.

There's another description to add to his list; man-whore.

"Yeah, c'mon Clair. Let's go."

Blaise was lucky I didn't see him checking out my arse as I left, because I would've hexed him good for it. If Draco hadn't been distracted by Pansy, he would've hexed him ten times worse.

Mum and I used floo powder to go to Diagon Alley. My first time using floo powder didn't turn out that well. That's all I'm going to say on that particular subject.


	2. Chapter 2: Shopping

Diagon Alley could be confusing if you'd never been there before. Fortunately for me, I'd been going there since I was little, so I knew my way around. Let's see, I didn't need to visit Olivander's because I didn't need a new wand, but I did need new robes and school supplies.

Mum really knew where all the bargains were, and if there weren't bargains, she managed to get the shop keepers to lower their price anyways. Not that money was a problem for _us_, seeing as we're purebloods, but dad didn't like wasting excess money.

I ended up leaving with five sets of new robes, all my school books and supplies, and a whole bunch of new outfits plus the occasional dress. Dad'll still flip, just not as badly as he would if mum wasn't such a shopping genius. Hopefully I'll inherit the gift. If not, then some poor bloke is going to lose ba lot/b of money from my shopping habits. I have faith in myself though, so I'm not too worried.

The topic of marriage is coming up soon I fear, as I'm starting my seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Draco is also starting his seventh year. We're twins, me being the eldest by three minutes. He hates that, and I make sure to bring it up whenever I can, as long as it fits in with the conversation. It's especially useful when we're having a row, something that happens almost constantly. He really is a huge baby. He'd kill me if I told anyone that though, so I've kept it to myself for seventeen years.

Mum and I flooed home, and I was safe from Draco for a few more hours. Draco barged into my room looking furious. Guess my time safe from him was up.

"Why the bloody hell didn't you tell me that _Pansy_ was here?" He always got so upset over the littlest details.

"So I forgot to mention it. Big deal, and anyway, you'd be sure to do the same thing to me. In fact, you **have** done the same thing to me, so don't even go there."

Our identical cold blue eyes connected in an icy glare, and because we had identical glares there was no way anyone could tell who was winning the nonexistent contest.

"You still could've told me."

More like warned him.

"Then you wouldn't have come downstairs, and I'd get into trouble and wouldn't have been able to go shopping today."

His glare turned into a scowl, "You and your bloody shopping. Dad should ban you and Mum from leaving the house."

I rolled my eyes, "Well if he does that, then I'll tell Mum about all the girls you shag. You could end up getting one of them pregnant you know, and then you'd be responsible for helping her with the baby."

He gave a cold laugh, "I use protection you dolt. None of them could ever end up pregnant." he drawled ever so slowly, like the huge pompous arse he is.

"Listen here Draco, I'll give you a different scenario. What if one of those girls iwants/i to get pregnant, and they idon't/i use protection. What then?"

"I already told you-"

"What if they're so desperate that they learn a reverse to your protection spell. How about that one?"

It wasn't hard to see that he was coming up short on an answer to my question.

"Like anyone would do that," he muttered back for lack of anything better.

I snickered at him, "You'd be surprised what people would do to get what they want. I'm honestly surprised Pansy hasn't thought of it yet. Maybe I should go suggest it to her."

"Don't you dare!"

I laughed coldly, "Don't worry, I won't. Not yet, at any rate."

I loved messing with him. Sick enjoyment, but enjoyment nonetheless. At least I'm not like my father or the Dark Lord, getting my enjoyment from watching other's suffer from all sorts of tortuous curses. If that were the case, I'd most likely be on my way to becoming a death eater instead of a housewife.

Ugh, imagine if I ended up like iAunt Bellatrix/i God that would be awful. She's lost it from all those years in Azkaban. Absolutely lost it.


	3. Chapter 3: Train Ride

The train ride to Hogwarts was the worst one I'd had yet. Draco and Pansy snogged the whole ride, Crabbe and Goyal stuffed themselves with food, and I was squeezed between them. Zabini and Nott had to sit in some other compartment this year because it was so cramped. It probably wouldn't have been so cramped if my idiot brother wasn't taking up the whole opposite seat. I wanted to hex him so badly.

The compartment door slid open, and Blaise stuck his head in.

"Oi, Malfoy, Potter's up there saying stuff about you."

That stopped the snog fest immediately. Anything that challenged that nitwit's pride/honor made him stop whatever he was doing on the spot and go hunt them down.

Potter was Draco's biggest enemy and my least concern. I didn't like him, and I didn't dislike him. He was just there, I guess. Draco got really annoying though when he started talking about how Potter's such a loser.

If there's one thing my brother can't face, it's getting his arse kicked, especially if it's in front of a group of people. Potter's put him in that position one too many times.

I got up as well and followed Draco northward towards the front of the train. He found their compartment quickly enough, ripping open the door and pointing his wand instantly at Potter.

"Dual," Draco commanded instantly.

Potter simply looked at him like he was an annoyance rather than a threat. The mudblood and blood-traitor on the other hand looked worried.

"I don't have time for this Malf-"

"Make time," he growled out.

Draco was only making this worse for himself, I was sure of it. Potter stood up, taking out his wand as he did so. This looked all wrong, but I wasn't sure why.

Suddenly I realized what the problem was, and grabbed hold of Draco's arm.

"Are you insane, Draco?" I hissed.

He moved to rip his arm back, but I held a firm grip.

"Let go of my arm Clair."

When I didn't move, he started yelling at me, trying to flip the wand around to point at me.

"Clarisse Narcissa Malfoy, let-go-of-my-arm."

He said each word slowly, to enunciate their meaning.

"Draco, we're on a train, in a tiny compartment. Not only that, but you're a prefect. Do you honestly think it's very wise to get into a fight before we've even gotten to _school_?"

The three Gryffindor's looked surprised, but I wasn't doing it on their behalf. Anyone could end up getting hurt if there was a fight on the train, including me.

He glared, but put the wand away.

Pansy glared at me too, "What's wrong with you? He could've-" "Could've what Pansy? Gotten his arse kicked, hurt, or in trouble before we've even arrived? There's an accomplishment. Our parents would be very proud."

I glared at her icily, and she glared back, but it was way less impressive than mine. Draco and Pansy stormed off, most likely to resume their snogging from earlier. I turned to leave when a voice cut through the air.

"Wait! Wait, I just- I just wanted to say thank you for what you did back there."

The mudblood said quickly and softly. I whipped my head around to scrutinize her.

"I didn't do it on your behalf."

I refrained from calling her a mudblood as I too stalked out of the compartment. I wasn't going soft, I just didn't find it a very great idea if Draco got in trouble so early in the school year.


	4. Chapter 4: Katrina Valentine

Draco didn't forget about how I had refrained him from attacking Potter on the train. All the rest of the week he was particularly rude, but I didn't care that much. It was not an unknown fact that we were generally very wary of each other's company. At times we enjoyed hanging out with each other, but those times were rare now. They weren't so rare when we were children, before we came to school and he became a total prat. I became a prat too I suppose, just not as extremely as he did. I was everything he was, simply toned down a couple of notches. Yes, that was a good way of putting it.

Everyone was quick to please the both of us, but it wasn't for us in particular. It was our _last name_ that they worshipped. I knew that, but it didn't bother me. I was higher up on the food chain than they were, and that was that.

"Clair!"

I turned my head and saw Katrina Valentine making her way towards me. She was my best friend, and the envy of every girl in the school, including myself. Her wavy brown hair cascaded to the middle of her back, and she had the most beautiful brown eyes and an award winning smile. One thing I admired her for was her ability to get the attention of _everyone_ and not be affected by it.

She'd been something my brother longed for but had never gotten. That was by my doing mostly. I told her all the things that I would never tell anyone else, about home and about Draco. She laughed with me and agreed that Draco was a disgusting horny pig, and vowed to stay as far away from him as possible. Thus making shagging her impossible, let alone snogging her. His biggest disappointment. I think he knew I was to blame too.

"Hey, how's the summer been?"

We swapped stories (and gossip) for quite some time. Draco told me to shut it before stalking off to the boys' dormitories.

"I could go make him feel better," Kate mused with a smirk on her face.

I gaped at her, "Kate- are you mad!"

She laughed so hard she doubled over, clutching her stomach.

"Oh Clair, you should've seen your face! I was **joking**."

I felt my mouth form an 'o' shape, and sat there. I couldn't believe she'd make a joke like that. I thought I was going to throw up on the spot. My desire to be in the common room diminished, and I politely excused myself as I myself headed up to my own dormitory.

Kate and I didn't share a dormitory because our last names were so far apart, so I didn't have to worry about talking to her. It wasn't the joke that bothered me; it was the fact that she had been joking about doing it with my _brother_. Knowing Kate, she's bound to break her word, but would she shag my brother? There lies the question; will she stand by me, or will she choose my brother instead? Time will tell I suppose...


	5. Chapter 5: Betrayal

I shoved through a crowd of first years as I made my way to Potions class. Snape wouldn't mind if I was late, but I preferred to be on time. Draco, on the other hand, generally took as long as he wanted before turning up to class. Kate was nowhere to be seen, and I clenched my fists at my side. We'd made that agreement _years_ ago, and I didn't understand why she needed to be break it now.

Halfway through class, Draco and Kate bumbled into the room, and I glared at both of them. Kate noticed me, and instantly shut up. Evidently she'd forgotten that I had this class with them, which ultimately meant that they were trying to be sneaky and not get caught. Blew that one right off the bat. Snape ignored them as they came in, and the Gryffindor's glared balefully back and forth between Snape and the late-comers. Snape had everyone pair up with someone from the opposite house, and I ended up working with the mudblood.

She seemed to be fairly shy, and I saw from the corner of my eye that I was being watched by the blood-traitor.

"Somebody likes you," I mumbled under my breath.

"What?"

She sounded surprised that I'd been the first to talk.

"Weasley over there; he's keeping a firm eye on me, and I suspect it's so that he knows whether or not he needs to hex me or not."

Her face flushed, "Oh- um, right."

Wasn't she supposed to be the smart one of the group? What was Snape always calling her? Oh yes, 'an insufferable know-it-all.'

"So what are we supposed to be doing?"

She went into lengthy detail about whatever potion it was we were making, and commenced to starting right away. I mindlessly followed her lead, still not over my anger at Kate, my ex-best friend, and Draco. I blamed Kate more than him though, partly because he was my brother and I expected the behavior out of him, and partly because _she_ broke her word.

Snape came over to check our work, praised me and grudgingly did the same to Hermione, although not as highly. She didn't look disappointed though; seven years of having him for her teacher had toughened her up pretty good. Class ended, and the mudblood spoke again before I could leave.

"Um, thank you for not- um, messing anything up or picking on me." Wow, she must get picked on a lot by Slytherins. Then it hit me; she was comparing me to my brother.

"Don't compare me to my brother," I said testily as I shoved myself out of the classroom.

I heard Kate calling my name, but ignored her as I made my way to the greenhouse. My next class was herbology with Professor Sprout, and I looked forward to it for once in my life. It was the only class that I had by myself, away from both my twin and his new slut.


	6. Chapter 6: Shocking News and Arguments

Another month crawled by, slower than a snail, and I still had not forgiven Valentine. I figured since we weren't friends anymore, I'd begin calling her by her last name. A hurt look crossed her features every time I did, but I didn't care. She'd hurt me first, and so I was going to do everything I could to hurt her back.

Draco had tried talking to me a couple times too, but I think my exact words were, "Shove off, man-whore." All in all, I was not in a very great mood my first month of school. The first quidditch game of the season cheered me up though. It was Slytherin against Hufflepuff, and we won. I don't think we've ever had the first game of the season against Gryffindor; that wouldn't work out at all. Whichever team lost would say that they didn't have enough time to train properly, or that the other team cheated. So they started us off against either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw every year.

It was on this day that Valentine decided to try and approach me for the thousandth time this year.

"Clair, wait!"

I kept moving, not paying much attention to where I was going, and suddenly felt myself being pulled backwards and into somewhere. When I could focus again, I came to the realization that I was in the girl's bathroom on the third floor, and that Ka- Valentine was the culprit.

"Clair-"

"What the bloody hell do you want _Valentine_."

The same expression of hurt crossed her face, along with a new one; fear.

"Clair please, I'm sorry!"

I crossed my arms across my chest, "I don't want to hear it. You broke your promise."

She had tears in her eyes, "Please Clair! I'm scared! I'm-"

She broke off the sentence, and it felt like a bowling ball fell into a pit in my stomach.

"You're what?"

I was cautious, and I had a bad feeling I wasn't going to like what came out of her mouth.

"I'm pregnant Clair."

My fists clenched, "Is it Draco's?"

She nodded her head, and I whirled around and left, leaving her standing in the bathroom. It was lunch time, and I stormed off to the great hall to find my brother. He wasn't hard to spot; he sat in the same place every day, with his group of friends and the posse that followed him around. Pansy sat, sulking, across the table from him, but I didn't feel bad. She should've known better than to think my brother actually had _feelings_.

He saw me coming, but made no effort to acknowledge my presence.

"Get up Draco," I commanded in a harsh voice.

"Why should I-"

"Just get up!"

My voice was carrying, and people at the Gryffindor table were staring. Grumbling something about being right back, he stood up and followed me out into the hallway. I took about five steps before I turned on him.

"You got her **pregnant**?!"

Surprise flitted across his face, "What are you-"

"She just told me that she's pregnant Draco."

My voice was low and deathly cold.

"So are you two talking now?"

I rolled my eyes, "Absolutely not. She blabbed it while she was trying to get me to forgive her. I told you what you're doing would come back to haunt you someday. I TOLD YOU!!"

All my anger had built up and was being taken out on brother dearest.

He held up his hands, "Look Clair, I didn't mean-"

"Of course you didn't mean to Draco. But she's pregnant, and I'm telling

mum and dad, and nothing you can say will make me change my mind."

He was getting defensive and angry, "She's probably just making it up so you'll be her friend again or something."

My eyes flashed, "You didn't see her face Draco. She's scared to death, and you're just going to up and leave her, aren't you?"

He did nothing to deny it, and I laughed coldly, "I figured as much. That's why I didn't want her to have anything to do with you. That's why I made her promise me she would never do anything with you. I was trying to protect her, but she went back on her word, and you're doing exactly what I knew you'd do. You're pathetic Draco Lucious Malfoy. Absolutely **pathetic**."

I stormed back into the great hall, where it appeared that everyone had heard my outburst, grabbed some food, and left.


	7. Chapter 7: Angry Parents and Old Secrets

I sent a letter with my owl, Jewl, to mum and dad, telling them of what had happened. They came to the school the next day. As I had predicted, they were not pleased, _at all_ .

Snape came to get Draco and I, and took us up to Dumbledore's office, where mum and dad were waiting for us. Mum looked disappointed, and dad looked extremely angry. He went off on Draco the moment he stepped foot in the room.

"What is wrong with you? Getting a girl _pregnant_? How stupid can you get?"

My mum didn't know what to think, as she hadn't said anything yet.

Draco scowled, "Well at least I didn't _get_ pregnant or anything." He threw a glance in my direction, and I scowled. There had been a reason that Kate confided her pregnancy in me, and why I was so upset that he'd go and get someone pregnant. I myself had gotten pregnant last year, and the only reason I was in school now and not taking care of a baby is because I had a miscarriage. It was a result of the one and only time I'd shagged someone (I wasn't sure who; I was drunk off my arse), and had taught me to grow up and be responsible fast. My brother didn't learn that lesson though, and thought it perfectly fine to go around shagging anyone and everyone he felt like.

"She learned her lesson Draco," mum snapped.

She was touchy about that subject, and wasn't pleased that Draco would bring it up. Probably because of what had _caused_ my miscarriage. Her eyes glanced to my father and away quickly. We have a great many secrets in my family. No one knew that I was pregnant though, not even me. I had done something to displease father, and his method of punishment caused me to have a miscarriage. I'm pretty sure he wanted to punish me some more after that, but my mum wouldn't have it.

She was more upset than I was at the loss of the unborn child. I don't think it was so much she wanted me to have a baby when I was sixteen, it was the fact that she herself had a miscarriage when Draco and I were three. That's also why father didn't push all the reasons for why I should be punished. He did, however, tell all the rest of the death eaters what had happened, including the Dark Lord himself. I don't think he really cared, but he always wanted to know what was going on in the lives of his death eaters. Draco glared at me, and my restraint broke.

"Quit glaring at me Draco. I told you before we started school what I thought about the things you do, and I had Katrina promise me years ago that she wouldn't have anything to do with you. It appears that neither of you listened to me, and I told you that I'd tell mum and dad, so don't get all mad at me because I was right."

Mum came to stand by me, apparently thinking that I might break down because of the loss of my baby. My father glanced at me in surprise, and it looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind, abruptly turning towards my brother.

"You're going to have to take care of this Draco. Your mother and I don't know if her parents want you to marry her or not, but if they do, you won't argue. If they don't, then you are still required to support her."

Draco glowered, but dared not question our father's authority.


	8. Chapter 8: Apologies and Gits

Kate was beginning to show in her pregnancy, and after she begged me five thousand more times, I decided to forgive her - only because I didn't want her to do anything to harm the baby. As much as I disliked the fact that my brother and best friend were together, I couldn't continue to discriminate, especially since I myself didn't always have the best judgment. Besides, Kate would be able to finish out her school year, unless the baby was premature.

I was honestly surprised that my brother didn't abandon her. Then again, mum would've kicked his arse if he did, so it was probably in his best interest not to.

"Clair?"

I tore my glance away from the spot on the wall I had been staring at and focused my attention of Kate.

"I'm sorry, for- you know.." she made a gesture at her stomach.

"You're sorry that you're having a baby, my brother's baby, or for going back on your word?"

She bit her lip, "All three."

I shook my head, even though I was feeling some resentment still.

"Forget it. I'm still upset about it, yeah, but I won't hold it against you."

She started to turn away, but then changed her mind.

"Are you mad at me?"

Didn't I just answer this question?

"Because I'm having a baby?"

Ah, the beauty of clarification. I'd asked myself this question a thousand times. I'd have my own son or daughter right now if it wasn't for that miscarriage that my father single-handedly brought about. But I wouldn't have wanted it, not now anyway.

"No Kate," I said softly.

She nodded and moved off to do something else. My gaze returned to the spot on the wall, and didn't move away until the couch started sinking. I turned my head only to find that Blaise had sat down beside me.

"Hey Clair."

I nodded my head but didn't answer him. He was only there for thirty seconds when someone else waltzed over. From the way it's shadow moved I knew exactly who it was.

"Move it Zabini. I've got to have a chat with my sister, and it doesn't include you."

Blaise was off the couch instantly, and my brother sat down beside me, hogging more than his half of the couch.

"Scoot over you prat."

He glowered at me, "What's wrong with _you_? Are you having PMS or something?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh yeah, that's exactly what's wrong with me. Glad you figured it out so fast. Why are you here anyway?"

He continued to glower.

"I wanted to talk to you about your engagement."

I wished I'd had I drink, that way I could've properly choked on something.

"What?"

"You heard me Clarisse. Your **engagement**. I don't think I'm getting any more clear than that."

I folded my arms and waited. He didn't have anything to talk about anyway; no one had talked about my engagement at all this year. Mum said she'd owl me if there was any stupid breath-taking news.

"Listen," he dropped his voice and looked around, "I know mum and dad are planning, and I know that you don't particularly care-" he stopped short of whatever he was saying.

"I'm right aren't I? You _don't_ care?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"That's what I thought. Anyway, I think I ought to tell you who you...you know..._shagged_ last year."

I perked up at this bit of news. At least he was telling me something useful. It kind of eats away at you when you don't know who "stole" your virginity.

"Alright, I'm all ears."

He leaned forward, "Vincent Crabbe."

A horrified expression crossed my face, "I shagged Crabbe!?" I whisper-shouted.

His face puckered up, and he burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you fell for it!"

I glared at him and punched him in the arm.

"Do you have to be a complete arse all the time?!"

He smirked, "You should know me well enough by now. Besides, did you seriously think I was going to tell you?"

My face gave me away.

"You did!" He cackled, thoroughly enjoying my hurt expression.

If I was in his position, I'd probably act the same way.

"I can't believe you thought I'd tell you!"

He continued to laugh, and, before I hexed him, I stood up and exited the common room. The lake sounded like a good place to go right about now.


	9. Chapter 9: The Lake Disturbance

The sound of approaching footsteps made my head snap up, but upon seeing nothing, I returned to my pointless gazing across the lake. The sound got closer, and I whipped my head up again, still not seeing anything. Suddenly Potter's face popped out of thin air, and I stifled a scream.

"Bloody _Hell_ Potter, what's wrong with you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry Malfoy. Wasn't expecting anyone else to be out here."

I looked around and saw that the sun had indeed set and it was now dark. My thoughts returned to my brother. He's probably not even worried yet. Stupid prat.

Potter made to move forward, but threw a wary glance my way and moved over a couple of feet before sitting down. I was perfectly content just sitting there, but evidently Potter was _not_

"So...what are you doing?"

"Sitting here."

What did it look like I was doing?

"Why aren't you with your brother?"

My anger level was beginning to rise.

"Are you insinuating that I have to constantly be with my brother?"

Potter looked startled, "N- No-"

"I'm three minutes older than him for Merlin's sakes! I don't have to look up to him or anything."

My anger was turning into bitter resentment.

"Everyone always assumes that I need my brother. No one ever stops to think that I'm capable of making my own decisions."

I suddenly realized who it was I was pouring my whole life story to, and shut my mouth instantly.

Potter looked uncomfortable, "Um, do you want me to, uh, leave?"

"That would be good, yeah."

My voice wasn't snotty like my brother's would've been; it was softer than usual. Why I was being polite at all was beyond me. He was _Harry Potter_ for Merlin's sakes, not a fellow Pureblood. I waved the thought aside, focusing on my anger at my brother instead.

I stood up, not being able to vent while sitting, and began pacing along the shore, chucking a rock in the lake every once in a while for good measure. I turned around and began storming my way back up to the castle, but only took two steps before running into an invisible wall. Someone made an "Oof" sound, and I stuck my hand out and pulled off Potter's invisibility cloak.

"I thought you were leaving," I said coolly.

He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. His eyes were as big as saucers, and a bunch of babble was coming out of his mouth. At least he wasn't drooling or something disgusting.

"You know what, I don't care what it is. I'm outta here."

I left him sitting on the ground where he'd fallen, and made my way back to the common room. Draco was sitting on the same place on the couch, but I ignored him and went to my dorm room. For the first time in my life I was in bed before eleven. Maybe if I'm angry more often, I'll get more sleep.


	10. Chapter 10: Of Dates and Walks

"Clair, do you think this makes me look fat?" Kate asked me as she stood in front of her full-length mirror.

She was constantly worrying about looking fat, and she'd been ten times worse since she started showing.

"News flash Kate, you're growing another human being inside of you. People know that you're pregnant, and no one's going to call you fat."

No one with any decency, at any rate.

"Ok good, because I really don't want to go anywhere in unflattering attire."

God, she really did get the vanity part of being a pureblood. She radiated with a glow that only a pregnant woman could achieve, and she looked stunning.

"So where are you headed to anyway Kate? You never did say."

Katrina glanced at me from the mirror, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I'm going out with Draco. He said he wanted to talk to me about something, and we haven't talked much since....well… you know...."

Basically, they'd talked a grand total of 0 times. A big fat 0. I still hadn't forgiven my brother for what he did, and I wasn't planning on it any time soon. I was pretty good at holding grudges. I was even better at pretending that nothing was wrong between us. Unless you were in the immediate group that we hang out with, you'd never know there was a problem.

Once and a while Draco sent Crabbe or Goyal over to command my presence, but I refused to be bothered by that prat. Crabbe in particular got cold glares because the "joke" Draco had played.

"Oh, well have fun," I told her unenthusiastically.

"Hey, what's up between you two?"

She'd been bugging me for days, but I hadn't felt up to talking about it. Since she was going to spend significant time with my brother in about fifteen minutes, I figured now would be a good time to tell her.

"He won't tell me who I shagged while I was out of it last year."

Her face instantly showed a mixture of sympathy and pity, "Oh Clair, I'm so sorry for you! You want me to ask him for you?"

Gotta love the 'best friend pity' card. Works like a charm every time.

"Oh, you don't have to, but if you want to then sure."

She only ever did what she wanted, and in this case she wants to, mainly for her own benefit more than for her best friend. Probably wants to fantasize about what my baby would look like. She gave me a quick hug as she exited her dorm room, and I, in a sudden pit of boredom, decided to go on a walk. Walks always calmed me down and gave me a chance to zone out, not worry about anything. Unless I was walking to class, in which case I was focused on getting there and not forgetting anything.

The dungeons were really dreary when one thought about it, but oh well. That's life for a Slytherin. We wanted to please impress others constantly, never doing anything for ourselves that we wanted. Only things that would better our reputations. Like in the case of Kate Valentine and my brother. Draco got her pregnant, which society looks down on, but because they're graduating this year and getting married (supposedly), it's just fine and dandy. In my case last year, it was hushed up, end of story. It made me wonder if the guy figure knew about anything, or if he was just as drunk and oblivious as I was.

If he wasn't drunk, then it's understandable why I haven't heard about it from him; Draco is very good with threats. Merlin knows he wouldn't hesitate going through with it either.

I was thrown out of my not-too-zoned-but-still-zoned state of mind when I walked into a wall in the middle of the hallway. This wall had a pair of arms that came out to catch me from falling and also smelled kind of nice. I looked up into a pair of familiar blue eyes and smiled at my long-time friend.

"Watch where you're going Malfoy," he teased.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Right after you Nott."

Theodore Nott, while my friend and possible fiancée, was not _boyfriend_ material, in my eyes at any rate. Neither was Blaise Zabini for that matter. I believe it was previously stated, but I just thought it should be reinforced. Theodore and Blaise had been my friends since first year, and it would be too weird to marry date them. Besides, I can't picture my name with either of them. Mrs. Clarisse Nott or Mrs. Clarisse Zabini. Both are out just because I don't like their last names replacing mine.

"What are you doing out and about, besides walking into people?"

I rolled my eyes, as I constantly did in his presence. Just because we were friends didn't mean he wasn't a bonehead.

"I was walking, or couldn't you see that from way down the hall, since you were obviously paying attention to where you were walking."

He fell into step beside me, and we began to make our way down the hall, where we would turn and make our way back to the Slytherin common room.

"Of course. What's the deal with you and Draco?"

Way to kill the conversation.

"None of your business. Of course, if you asked **him**, I'm sure he'd gladly tell you," I added scathingly.

He dropped the subject after that. The rest of the walk was almost uneventful. 'Almost' here being the key word.

"Hey Claire!"

I cringed inwardly as we turned slightly and saw non other than Harry Potter making his way towards me. What was his problem now? Theodore's gaze narrowed until his eyes looked like slits. For some bizarre reason, that wasn't enough to stop him from continuing his advance towards us.

Let me lay out the dilemma; I wasn't totally rude to Potter, and didn't totally dislike his company, try as hard as I could to deny it. The bigger problem here was that Theodore was standing at my side, and not only would he be extremely rude, he'll expect me to join in. If I do, it means I look like a stereotypical jerk. If I don't, Nott will be sure to tell my brother, who will in turn bug me about it. It will be the train ride all over again, a thousand times worse.

"What do you want, _Potter_?" Nott demanded.

"None of your business, _Nott_," Har- Potter responded just as coldly.

He turned his attention to me then, "Hey, have you got a minute? I wanted to ask-"

"Where the nearest train to Loserville is? Sorry Gryffindork, you just missed it. I'll tell you what though, I'm sure I can convince them to come back to get you, you're just that important to them."

He threw his head back and laughed cruelly. Potter stood his ground, refusing to stoop to his level.

"No, actually, I wasn't looking for the train, but it's a shame it's gone. It would've done you good to go. Now listen Claire-"

"What do you want with Claire, eh loser? Not only is she way out of your league, but she's a _pureblood_, and a highly thought of pureblood at that, and Draco will totally kick your arse if you so much as come within five feet of her again. Got it?"

Nott grabbed my hand and dragged me off, and I was grateful that I didn't have to say anything. I glanced back over my shoulder and regretted it. Potter looked just as bad as he would've if I had said something.


	11. Chapter 11: The Quidditch Bet and News

"Hey Clair, look at this!" Blaise called from the couch.

I leaned down to look at the Quidditch paper he was holding and groaned. I'd lost the bet we made about who would win the Quidditch match, and Blaise was absolutely beaming.

"I believe you owe me my money now. We agreed on five galleons, correct?"

I absolutely _loathe_ him. I didn't think for one second that the Holyhead Harpies would win, and the only reason Blaise was rooting for them was because their robes are similar to ours.

"Fine you bloody prat. Take money from a _girl_."

I only used the 'but-I'm-a-girl' card when I lost at something and didn't want to have to pay up. If only the Montrose Magpies' chaser hadn't been knocked off course and ended up scoring in the Harpie's goal post. Bloody ridiculous.

"No way! You're paying me my five galleons Malfoy, and there's no way you're getting out of it."

Holding my head high, I walked rigidly to the staircase, made my way to my dorm room, grabbed five galleons, and made my way back to the common room.

"Fine then, here."

Blaise snorted, "Someone's a sore loser," he said with a smirk on his face.

"You'd better watch it, or I'll mess up your face so bad you won't be recognizable."

He simply laughed at me as he stood up.

"Sure you will. Let me know when you want to have another bet. I'll be looking forward to it."

I wish I had something to chuck at the back of his head as he walked away.

"What's wrong with you?"

I turned my head and saw Kate standing a couple feet away, confusion etched plainly across her face.

"Bloody Zabini won our bet about who would win the Quidditch match." She tried to suppress a grin, but failed miserably. I glared at her, and she attempted to look apologetic.

"I'm sorry Clair, but you look so cute when you're mad. I hope that if I have a girl, she inherits that look."

I rolled my eyes, but was secretly pleased.

"Yeah, well it wasn't funny. I lost five galleons to that prat!"

Draco suddenly appeared at her side, and I stiffened.

"You bet five **galleons** on who would win the Quidditch match?" I nodded, wishing to not be having this conversation.

"Merlin Clair, didn't I ever teach you the proper way to bet?"

He was grinning, and try as I might I couldn't stay mad at my only brother, and he knew it.

"Like I pay any attention to what you have to say."

Kate smiled at our reunion.

"It's about time. You two could make the tiniest incident into a federal offense."

I snorted, "That's a Malfoy for you. You'd better learn quick, because you're going to bring another one into the world pretty soon."

She looked down at her ever growing stomach affectionately, and I smiled.

"Hey, do you want to be the baby's godmother Clair? I mean, after all, you're going to be the aunt, and you're my best friend after all."

I didn't have to think twice about it.

"Of course I will. Hey, do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

She had a twinkle in her eye, "Yes, I do actually."

Draco looked at her, obviously not knowing she had this kind of information.

"Well, are you going to enlighten us sometime today?"

She placed her hand on her stomach before speaking, "It's a girl," she stated proudly.

Draco looked slightly disappointed that it wasn't a boy, but that's only because of his huge ego. I probably looked that way too when we were infants and I saw that instead of having a twin sister (who probably would have gotten into less trouble) I had this dorky looking brother. Boys will always want boys and girls will always want girls.


	12. Chapter 12: Vacations and Visitors

Christmas vacation had arrived, and I was happier than ever to be going home. The entire Valentine family would be spending the holiday with us, and evidently Kate and Draco were sharing a room. It appeared that since she was already knocked up doubled with the fact that they were supposed to be getting married anyway, our parents didn't care if they had sex or not. Typical pureblood ways of life.

Until you were where Draco and Kate were in their lives, everyone absolutely discouraged sex. Now look; no one cares. Way to stick to the plan everyone. I swear, if I had a kid and they ended up like Draco and Katrina, I would in no way, shape, or form encourage any of it. They wouldn't even be sleeping on the same floor, let alone in the same room.

"Ready Clair?"

Draco's voice asked from behind me.

I turned to face him, "When am I not?"

He rolled his eyes, stepping past me to get out the common room door first.

"You prat! You're supposed to let the ladies go first!"

He snorted, turning around slightly, and appraising me with his eyes. Not in a perverted kind of way, seeing as how we're twins and all, but just sort of, looking. Hopefully that was clear enough. Otherwise there's nothing else I can do about it.

"You're not a lady, Clair."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes, "Right, I'm the Dark Lord. Seriously Draco, you're going to have to face the fact that I, your twin sister, older by three whole minutes, am a girl."

Kate bounded down the stairs after us, "C'mon you two! You're holding up traffic, and I for one am eager to start Christmas break as soon as possible."

Once we arrived at the train station, mum and dad took our bags and apparated them home, allowing us to focus on apparating ourselves home. Mum was worried about her 'babies', and didn't trust us to apparate anything but our bodies yet. Even then she was worried about one of us splicing something.

Kate's parents didn't even meet her at the train station, and she was fine with taking her own luggage. She refused my father's offer actually, stating that, "I'm just fine thank you. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm handicapped."

That's one of the things I loved about Katrina Valentine; she was absolutely fine with telling anyone and everyone what she thought, not paying any mind to who they were. Of course, she was Katrina Valentine, so she could basically do whatever she wanted. Upon arriving home, I was struck by it's massiveness. After living here for seventeen years, you'd think I'd have gotten over that years ago. After being away from home for so many months though, it felt good to have some sort of feeling wash over me. If all the house wanted from me was to make me feel awed, then awed I would be. I hate all those sods that come home and start bawling about how much they missed home. Cry me a river and get over it.

"The house elves have taken your things to your room Clair," my father told me in a stern voice.

Evidently he had taken Kate's refusal personally. His ego had been deflated a little, and even a miniscule deflation enraged him. I wondered if he was insecure with himself or something. It couldn't be nothing, otherwise I wouldn't be kicking around wondering about it.

After making my way to my bedroom, right across the hall from Draco's (lucky me), I opened the door slowly. My favorite thing about my room was my name engraved on the door. My other favorite thing about my room was the matching engravement above my bed, not seen by anyone but me because I put it on the wall under the canopy. My room was decorated similarly to my brother's. The walls were a dark shade of green, and my canopy was black. The bed sheets were black with a green comforter, and I had a black body pillow and two green pillows.

Draco's room was kind of the opposite of mine, while sticking to the same colors. His walls were identical to mine, but his canopy was green, his bed sheets were green, his comforter was black, his body pillow was green, and his two pillows were black. I got mad at him when he said he was painting his walls green, because I'd already called it, but then he promised to offset everything else so it didn't look the same. Probably the one and only time he did something out of the goodness of his heart…. Who am I kidding? He only did it because if he didn't mum would've yelled at him and made him do something else with his room. We really are a bunch of babies around here. Maybe that's the pureblood problem; we're all a bunch of snobs, and at the same time very childish because we already have everything. Go purebloods.

Holly, my house elf, knocked quietly on the door before entering.

"Mistress wonders if you would like tea, Miss."

I looked down my nose (not extremely pleased to do so), and told her that I would join my mother as soon as I dressed properly for the occasion. Skipping over to my closet, I pulled out a simple green dress with long sleeves, as I got cold in the winter, and pulled on a pair of leggings, also for warmth. I also put on a black scarf because I felt like it, and in a way missed the quidditch matches at school. Slipping on a pair of slippers as a last touch, I headed downstairs into the sitting room my mother enjoyed having afternoon tea.

I was surprised to see the last person I would ever want to see sitting in the same room. My mother didn't look at all pleased to have the Dark Lord sitting in her sitting room either.


	13. Chapter 13: The Assignment

I bowed quickly; if I didn't, he'd _make_ me.

"My Lord," I mumbled quickly as I righted myself, "I didn't expect to see you here."

His eyes had always frightened me as a child, and when I'd expressed my fears to my father, all I had received was a beating and a lecture about how my father "doesn't raise cowards". Now all they did was remind me of why I should fear him.

"Your tea is getting cold Clair," mum told me quietly.

She spoke so softly in the presence of the Dark Lord it was sickening. I suddenly admired Harry Potter for another reason; he didn't have to live with the fear of constant punishment. Sure, he had to fear that Voldemort might try to kill him, but he's known that forever. For us, we had no say in anything. Draco and I perked a certain interest in the Dark Lord, yet I didn't have a clue as far as the reasoning went.

I moved to sit beside my mother, but altered direction immediately when Voldemort patted the seat beside him on the couch. I tried to sit as far away from him as I could, while still being discreet about it. Everyone knows that never works though, and he grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me closer. My mum's eyes narrowed, but my oh masterful Lord either (a)didn't notice or (b)didn't care. I'm betting money it was the second.

"I'll be having a word with your daughter, Mrs. Malfoy."

His words came out hiss-like, and my mother, looking rather sour at the fact that she had to leave her own sitting room because of _Him_, stood up and walked dignifully out of the room. Voldemort stood up quickly, and I remained seated on the couch. It seemed like every time I thought I was safe, he popped in for a 'visit'. He paced for a minute before turning the full force of his eyes on me.

"I hear you've been spending quite a bit of time with Mr. Potter."

I narrowed my eyes indignantly, "I have **not**. I've talked to him once or twice, and that's it!"

He chuckled humorlessly, "What I meant, silly girl, is that you've been spending more time than what a normal pureblood Slytherin would spend with him, let alone a Gryffindor."

He spat the word 'Gryffindor' out like it was a disease. In my opinion, he was a disease. I couldn't think of a good defense for myself, so I remained silent.

"Crucio," he muttered suddenly, pointing his wand at me.

I cried out, falling to the floor and writhing in pain. After a minute or two of that, he stopped, and my breathing was irregular. My whole body hurt, and I was sure the whole house had heard me. Voldemort didn't believe in soundproofing the walls. When he wanted to cause somebody pain, he made sure that everyone knew about it. He also found it quite amusing to cause pain to the victims' loved ones. My mother was probably digging her nails into something at the moment. The thought of her digging her nails into my father's hand brought a little spasm of joy to my heart, but it didn't help the pain any.

"That was for associating with a Gryffindor, Miss Malfoy. However, I have an assignment for you. I want you to get as close to Potter as you can. Do you understand me?"

Well, it was bound to turn out bad one way or the other.

"Do you understand _me_?"

He repeated in a low voice. There was no room for argument.

"Yes, my Lord." I answered him in a weak voice.

"Good. I expect good results the next time I pay you a visit."

His eyes raked over my body, **not** in the same way my brother's eyes had done just this morning.

"You will do _everything_ in your power to take his focus off of his goal. Your body will play a key role I expect, so use it."

I felt like vomiting. Voldemort was such a pervert. Then again, who knows when the last time he had a girlfriend was (or if he even had one). He left swiftly, his robes billowing behind him, and my mother rushed in, my father not far behind. When it came to these situations, my mother was always there to comfort me. My father wasn't.

"What have you done to displease the Dark Lord now, Clarisse?" Bloody hell, he'll never be satisfied with me.

"Nothing father. He was just showing me what will happen if I mess up the assignment is all."

The funny thing was, I never felt bad about lying to my father. Must be a pureblood thing. He narrowed his eyes at me before stalking off. Again I was struck by the sense that we were all big pureblood babies.


	14. Chapter 14: The Valentines

So my first day back was a huge nightmare, but the rest of my time at home was fine. Who was I kidding? I had to help Kate pick out baby stuff, plan their wedding, avoid my dad, who would hex me the first chance my mum wasn't looking, and avoiding dumb questions from Draco.

He'd asked me everything from, "What did you do?" all the way to "What's the mission about?" with anything else he could think of squashed in-between.

"Clair!" my mum called.

I lugged myself off the extremely cozy bed and hurried to the giant staircase, in which I could have a semi-normal conversation with my mum. At least she'd be able to see me.

"Yeah mum?"

My brother and Kate stood beside her, and they were dressed like they were going out.

"I need you to get ready to go out."

Surprise surprise.

"We're going to pick out stuff for the baby's room, and Kate wants you to help her."

Being the good obedient pureblood child I was, I quickly went back into my room, pulled on my coat overtop of my fitted top and size three jeans, grabbed my scarf, put on my well-bargained-for boots, and headed back downstairs. Kate's family wasn't coming, which wasn't surprising. They had their other precious daughter that they could mold any way they like, because she was the most submissive thing that ever lived.

If you asked Brianna Valentine to jump off a cliff, she probably would. Actually, that's not entirely true. If her **parents** asked her to jump off a cliff, then she would. She refuses to see the world for what it is, and when Kate tries to make her see that what their parents are doing is wrong, she goes crying straight to the source, and they comfort her and tell her what a big meanie her older sister is, what a big disappointment Katrina was, but that Brianna is perfect.

The Valentine's had Brianna wrapped around their fingers. She was basically a huge Barbie doll that they could play with, and it was sickening. Knowing Kate's parents, they'd stay away from her until the baby was born, and then they'd try to brainwash her kid. Draco and Kate were preparing for it though, so I wasn't that worried about my niece or nephew.

"Where are we going?"

My mum smiled, "A little shop in Diagon Alley that I like to shop at. I actually did all my shopping for you two at this store when you were little. They're really good."

For my mother to commend a store, she must _really_ like it.


	15. Chapter 15: Baby Shopping

Once we arrived at the store, I understood why my mum liked it so much. It was quaint, not very populated, and had high enough prices to keep away the poorer crowd. No Weasley would stand a chance in this store. It appeared that mum knew the shopkeeper too.

"Narcissa! It's been too long!"

A woman that appeared around my mum's age with long brown hair and purple eyes approached us, and as I watched, to my amazement, her eyes became a dark blue and her hair turned lighter, a very dark shade of blonde. The woman was obviously a Metamorphmagus.

"So it has, Frueta dear." my mum agreed.

Mum turned toward Draco and I, "Frueta, I'd like you to meet my children, Clarisse and Draco."

I reached my hand out to shake, but she skipped straight to the hugs.

"I haven't seen you since you were in your mother's stomach! You look great by the way Cissy," she added conversationally.

My mum smiled smugly, pleased with herself. Frueta turned to my brother, and then looked at Kate. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she turned to my mum.

"I take it those two weren't having careful sex?"

I choked on air, and my mum's cheeks flushed slightly, "Apparently not. It doesn't matter though, they're accepting the consequences of their actions and getting married."

Frueta made a clucking noise, and I decided that I didn't like her that much after all; she was too high-strung, and extremely nosey. Her attitude completely washed away any feeling of awe I'd had at what she was.

"Do you have any baby cribs Frueta?"

"Of course. Just follow me then."

She led us down an aisle or two, stopping when she reached the cribs.

"These are pretty standard," she indicated to a couple of horrific looking cribs, "And these are the more expensive ones. I'm assuming the parents to be **aren't** paying for this?"

I could imagine myself strangling her, I was so mad. She was treating them like crap!

"No, I'm paying for it," mum said softly, but with a don't-mess-with-me tone in her voice.

Frueta didn't say anything else, but made sure to keep the disapproving look on her face whenever she looked at Kate or my brother. I stayed by Katrina's side the entire time she looked over the baby cribs, musing about safety features. I put in my two cents once in a while, generally only when asked a direct question or when I was commenting on a crib I liked.

Draco looked bored out of his skull, and I had to agree that this wasn't the most entertaining thing in the world. We could be at home simply talking and have more fun than this. However, this was going to be for his daughter, so he could at least pretend that it was slightly interesting. Thinking up baby names would be a fun thing to do when we went home. I'd have to remember that thought for when we actually were at home.

After what felt like ages, Kate picked her baby crib. It was a green bassinet, and would be perfect for the baby girl.

While mum was paying for the crib, it occurred to me that Draco was going to be a father. Not that I didn't already know that, but it impacted me for the first time. What will good 'ol Voldemort say when the baby is born? Nothing good can come of having Voldemort influence your life, that's for sure.


	16. Chapter 16: Suggestions and Blowups

After another day passed, I suddenly remembered my thoughts about baby names. Fearing that I might forget as suddenly as I remembered, I left my room immediately and sought out Kate and Draco. Draco had been taking this whole marriage/fatherhood thing quite well, considering that he was _Draco Malfoy_.

Of course, who would dare argue with our father? Nobody on the ministry of magic did. Take, for instance, our third year. Draco was being a ruddy fool, and got himself attacked by a hippogriff. Nobody questioned my father's authority, and the hippogriff ended up being sentenced to death. I heard though (through my father venting about it) that the hippogriff got away. How it happened is beyond me, but that's what I heard.

Draco and Kate were in the living room on the couch, but not cuddling or snogging (thank Merlin; I would've thrown up a little in my mouth), and so they shouldn't have any objections to my proposal.

"Hey Kate," I called.

She looked up, and I saw that she was _knitting_. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she was making a blanket.

"I've got an idea for something that we can do today."

She set the blanket down, and Draco looked over from his place on the couch. He probably thought we were going to start yapping about some girly stuff we could do, like painting our toenails or some crap like that.

"What?" Kate asked, intrigued a little.

"We can come up with baby names."

Kate's eyes went wide from surprise, then a large grin spread across her face.

"**Bloody brilliant**!" she squealed.

Draco, on the other hand, was not so pleased.

"What are you meddling for _Clarisse_?"

He sneered my name out, as he so often did when he was annoyed or angry with me.

"I'm not meddling _Draco_," I retorted.

Kate diverted her attention to her fiancée as well.

"Really Draco, we need to pick names for the baby."

She looked slightly confused about why Draco wouldn't want to name the baby.

"Yeah, but I don't need my sister sticking her nose into our business." Kate scoffed, and I had to agree with her.

"Honestly Draco! She's my best friend, and your sister. She's going to be this baby's aunt for Merlin's sakes. Why don't you-"

"She's just mad because she didn't get to name her own baby, so now she's trying to name ours!"

He may as well have stabbed me. That was uncalled for, and he knew it.

"Draco!" Kate reprimanded, but she needn't have.

"Fine then, if that's what you think, then that's bloody fine with me," I stated coldly.

Without another word, I stalked up to my room, collapsing in a fit of hysterics when I reached the bed.


	17. Chapter 17: Draco's Big Mistake

I remained angry with Draco for the rest of the vacation. Kate tried extremely hard to stay angry, but failed miserably. I didn't hold it against her though; Draco could be extremely persuasive when he wanted to be. It wasn't until we were on the train going back to Hogwarts that we spoke again. It didn't turn out very well either.

"Move it _Clarisse_." he spat at me, trying to get into the compartment that I was so skillfully blocking.

"Why don't you try going on a diet and dropping a few pounds - maybe then you'll be able to squeeze past me."

Annoyed, he shoved me backwards and sent me toppling onto his pregnant fiancée, and my best friend.

"You bloody dolt!" she screamed at him as I leapt off of her.

"Can't you just apologize and get it over with? You were a right arse to her, and you know it! Now you're pushing her into pregnant women, and making everybody mad at you."

So instead of apologizing, he went and found Pansy Parkinson's compartment. Bloody man-whore. I told him he was a right git, slapped him twice (right after Kate did the same), and as soon as we were off the train went to sit by the lake. Well, as luck would have it, I was again stumbled upon by the famous Harry Potter.

"Looks like we both have a thing for the lake," he said, a small smile on his face.

I grunted in response.

"So…why are you out here?"

"Why are you?" I asked testily.

"I asked you first," he replied.

"My brother's a right git, and I feel like being alone. Obviously I can't ever be alone though, as every time I come out here you show up."

He shrugged and was quiet for a moment. For a fleeting half a second, I thought that maybe, just **maybe**, I'd get a bit of peace and quiet.

"Just out of curiosity, how is it that you and Malfoy are twins?"

I looked up quickly, slightly startled by the question.

"What do you mean? Isn't it kind of obvious?"

The definition of twins is 'being one of a pair' or 'identical'. Of course, there are fraternal twins too (Draco and I, obviously, are fraternal), but the first definition is correct. We are a pair, each of us making up one of the pair.

"Well, yeah, but your brother is such a git and you're – "

"Not? I don't think you know me very well, Potter."

He couldn't possibly know me. I was born a high class pureblood, a Malfoy, and my family serves the Dark Lord. He is my family's enemy, and he doesn't think that I can't be a git.

"No, I think I do Clair. I don't think the purebloods know you."

"You know what Potter? If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from me."

I got up quickly and hurried away from the lake. I felt like I was losing friends everywhere these days.


	18. Chapter 18: Confrontation

Kate forgave Draco the next day, and I grudgingly did the same a few days later, due to the constant nagging from Kate. He apologized for what he said when I suggested we think up baby names, but I knew he didn't mean it. He was doing it for Kate's sake as well. I hadn't seen or heard from Potter since our last encounter at the lake, and I was glad. I really didn't want to have anything to do with him, for fear that the Dark Lord should be given his desired information. Why I was even protecting him was beyond me, and I couldn't confide in anyone because they wouldn't understand either. There was the mudblood, of course, but – no, I couldn't go to her. Someone might see me.

"Clair!"

Draco's head bobbed above the crowd as he weaved his way in and out on his way over to see me. When he reached the couch, he simply stood for a moment, looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching, before he pulled me to my feet and dragged me out the common room door. I was then dragged through a million hallways until we reached the outdoors, and we then reached the lake.

"What the bloody hell is going on, Draco?" I growled, rubbing my arm where he'd held it in a vice grip.

Again, he scanned the surrounding area before turning his attention to me.

"How far along are you on your assignment?"

Oh crap. I didn't figure Draco into my calculations when I decided to do nothing with my mission.

"I'm never going to get anywhere if you keep bugging me."

I was thankful at this moment for my father's constant beatings to teach me to be quick witted and to be able to keep my head in a bad situation.

"I'm serious Clair. What you get from Potter is the backing for my assignment, and if you don't do your job than I can't do mine, and then- "

"So basically your using me so that you can give a good report to the Dark Lord? I don't think so, Draco."

He grabbed onto my arm and pulled me forward so that our faces were about an inch apart.

"You'd better get a move on, Clarisse, or I'll tell the Dark Lord that you're not doing your job, and then you'll have to answer to him."

I tried my hardest not to show how much that thought frightened me.

"Well if you would just – "

"Oi! Malfoy! Why don't you let her go?"

Like I said, never a moment's peace by the lake.

"Bugger off, Pothead. She's my sister, and I can do whatever I want, you – "

"Draco! The mission," I hissed as quietly as I could.

It was the only excuse I could use, and it would make it seem like I was actually following orders. He looked startled for a minute, but recovered quickly. He sneered and shoved me away from him, causing me to topple backwards and fall to the ground. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Potter before he could react.

"You'd better hope that I don't catch you with my sister again, Potter. You remember what happened last time."

There was an undertone of something I didn't understand, and a look of understanding in Potter's eyes that shouldn't have been there if this was all for show. Draco stalked off, and Potter rushed to help me up.

"What was all that about?" he asked me.

"You first," I said somewhat rudely.

He shook his head, and his shaggy black hair moved with it.

"I asked you first. Besides, you can ask your brother about it later."

Hesitating a moment, I decided against telling him.

"I can't tell you. Someone worse than Draco would kill me."

I could immediately tell that he understood who I was referring to, and I was dragged away from the lake and towards the Whomping Willow. I thought for sure he was trying to get me killed, taking me over there. It would probably pass as an accident, and no one would ever think to question it. Except for my parents, who may or may not care enough to investigate. My father probably would, just to make it seem like he cared about me, but I wasn't counting on anything. Much to my surprise, he found a long stick and pressed some button on the tree. The Whomping Willow stopped moving immediately, and I saw that there was a tunnel leading away somewhere.

I didn't see it for very long, of course, as Har – Potter immediately pulled me inside, and then it was a long trek of walking half bent over only to come out in the most disgusting and creepy looking place I'd ever been. Well, other than the places that Voldemort and my Aunt Bellatrix stayed, along with all the other convicted murders that had broken out of Azkaban.

"So you have dealings with Voldemort?"

"Well I've grown up worshipping the man as one would worship God, if that's what you mean."

He looked around, but he really didn't need to. I doubted if anyone else in the world would know that this place existed. At least, that there was a tunnel leading to it from underneath the Whomping Willow. Most people are too afraid to go anywhere near the tree.

"Are you supposed to kill me?"

I didn't want to lie to him, but I really didn't want to tell him either. I didn't even know why I was so concerned. After all, he was the enemy – someone I wasn't supposed to get involved with. Only, I was, because Voldemort told me to.

"No, I'm supposed to get information. That's why Draco's so mad at me – Because I haven't done anything yet. He doesn't know that I plan on doing nothing. Dealing with him is bad enough. I don't want to know what's going to happen when I go home. Voldemort loves the Cruciaticus Curse – he used it on me over vacation, in case you were wondering. That was simply when he was telling me my assignment."

I laughed bitterly as I thought about what was to come. I was a goner for sure.

"So, you'd go against Voldemort?"

"I guess so. I'm tired of watching my mother suffer because of him. She hates that my brother is being dragged in as a Death Eater, and that Voldemort is constantly attacking me for sport. My father doesn't care though – it's always, "What have you done to displease the Dark Lord now?" I swear, he doesn't have a heart."

"What about your family?"

"Why are you so curious all of a sudden? Have you been waiting for a pureblooded Slytherin to become a blood traitor or something?"

Something burned in his eyes, and the words that came out of his mouth next sent me toppling backwards.

"No, I've been waiting to see if the Clair Malfoy I spent the night with was still in there, or if she was just a side affect of too much fire whisky."


	19. Chapter 19: Story Time

"You're the father?!"

I was beyond shocked. It wasn't possible. Draco would've killed him, and Draco knew who the father was because Draco took care of me, because I was too drunk to take care of myself.

"What?" Harry sputtered.

It occurred to me then what I'd said. He'd never known there'd been a child. We'd both been equally kept in the dark I guessed. But how in the _bloody hell_ had I ended up with Harry Potter?

"Well there's no child now," I sniffed, my pureblood haughtiness covering for me. "My good ol' father killed off any chances it had at living. It was so far from developed, they couldn't even give me a gender."

"You got _pregnant_? Wait – you mean that your father caused a miscarriage? How-"

"Giving me my usual beating."

He looked angrier than I thought he had a right to be, and it caused me to snap at him.

"How the hell did I end up with _you_ anyway? You're a Gryffindor!"

His eyes narrowed, and I suddenly remembered we were in the middle of nowhere, underneath the Whomping Willow, still in the middle of nowhere, and that no one knew that this tunnel thingy existed, so no one would be able to find me.

"I know you don't remember, but it was _you_ who came on to _me_. Actually, it wasn't exactly like that, but you made the first move."

Ha! Like I would do that. Would I? I vaguely remembered I was upset that night – not over a boy or anything like that – and that's why I had been drinking so much. For once in my life, it wasn't because of Draco. If anything, Draco had been there for me on that occasion. The Dark Lord was the cause, I remembered that much, but I couldn't remember any details. It was just the way I'd wanted it. Now I wanted simply to remember….

"Do you want to hear how it happened?"

And so he wove me a tale about how I had drunkenly wandered down to the lake, bottle of fire whiskey in hand, and had fallen onto the ground. (He said I was trying to sit, but I was so drunk I just fell on my arse.) Apparently he had been there that night (surprise), and I'd poured my heart out to him. I told him everything that had popped into my head. It was mostly about my father and the Dark Lord. I'd cried and cried, and when he started to get up to leave because he felt awkward, I cried, "No! Don't go!" It must've been some look to get him to stay. I guessed I'd needed to felt loved. He told me that I kissed him. Funny, I'd always imagined my first kiss to be sweet and romantic, something I'd remember. And it was always the boy who was leaning down to kiss me. From his description, I was needy, needy, needy. Like a wild animal almost. He must've felt sorry for me. That, or he wanted to get back at Draco. That seemed unlikely though. When he finished, all I could do was stare at him. Then the Dark Lord's assignment flooded my mind.

_"That was for associating with a Gryffindor, Miss Malfoy. However, I have an assignment for you. I want you to get as close to Potter as you can. Do you understand me?" _

I couldn't look him in the eye then. Ironic that I didn't mind looking at him after he'd talked about the night I had sex with him. Then again, he wasn't betraying anyone. But I didn't necessarily have to betray him either….

That was when the idea began to formulate in my mind. I looked back up at Harry.

"Voldemort wants me to get information from you. That's what my assignment was. That's why Draco and I were arguing."

"And if you don't?" he asked me.

We both knew what would happen if I didn't. I just knew better than him was all.

"I've got an idea about what we can do."

And I told him my plan. Falsify information. Make it look like I'd done my job, without selling Harry out. Because I knew that I could never sell him out. I didn't understand why, I just knew it in my heart.


	20. Chapter 20: Let the Lies Begin

We went our separate ways when we came to the entrance of the tunnel. I returned to the common room and sought out Kate. She beamed up at me from behind some baby magazine she was holding and, despite myself, I couldn't help picturing a baby with black hair and ice blue eyes.

I took a deep breath to steady myself, and returned my attention to my best friend. She didn't seem to notice that I'd had to make myself focus, and for that, I was glad. She didn't need to worry about my health. She had her own to worry about, along with my niece's.

"Want to look at this baby stuff with me?" she asked. My face must've given me away, for a few seconds later, she retracted the offer, saying, "Oh I'm sorry Clair! Of course you don't want to. We can do something else."

She put the magazine aside, laying a hand on her ever growing stomach simultaneously, and stared at me. I guess I was supposed to start the conversation.

"So, when's the due date?"

There was no reason to stray entirely away from the baby subject all at once.

"Sometime in June, closer to July, I think," she replied.

"Come up with a name yet?"

"Nope. Want to help me?"

I looked at her, and she must've realized where my hesitation came from.

"Don't worry about Draco. He's a pain in the arse, but he'll get over himself someday." We could only hope so. I sat on the couch beside her, and we started mulling over names.

"Nothing close to 'Bella'," I said, thinking of my aunt Bellatrix. Gross. She wasn't sure what letter she wanted it to start with. I didn't think 'M' would be good. Just a tongue twister for somebody. Besides, having something like 'Marissa Malfoy' or 'Maddie Malfoy' or whatever was irritating.

We already had an 'N' , 'L', 'D', 'C', and 'K', if you counted Katrina, so some other beginning letter should be used. That was my opinion of course. If Kate wanted to use one of those letters, then by all means she can. Names like Gertrude popped into my head, and vanished as soon as they came. Helena was pretty, but headstrong and sort of weird with the Malfoy last name. I'd given up on the names when Kate decided she'd picked one.

"Elodie Kris Malfoy. Fits right in with you guys' naming pattern." My confusion must have been evident on my face.

"C, D, E," she said, as if talking with someone who was mentally challenged.

"Oh." It made more sense when she put it that way.

"So, what have you been up to today? Draco looked pretty pissed off when he came storming through."

Of course he had. Now I could understand why it seemed that there'd been a message passed between them. Because there had been.

"Oh, nothing much. You know how Draco is. Moody, selfish, and arrogant. Bloody twit."

Kate smiled, but didn't look convinced that that was really the problem. I wished I'd been there to see how pissed Draco had been, since the only way Kate could possibly not believe that lie was if Draco had been pissed beyond his usual breaking point. And I could believe that. After all, he'd been forced to leave me alone with the boy he'd threatened to hex to death if he so much as came anywhere near me, and I wasn't committed to doing my job. And I imagined that he'd have liked to defy _Him_ just out of spite for giving me that assignment, but he was too afraid for that.

I was too afraid to, but not of the Dark Lord. I was more worried about what would happen if I didn't stand up to him. And I couldn't let anyone suspect me. These last few months of school were going to be hell for me. I could just tell.

"So where did my brother stalk off to anyway?"

Kate shrugged, "I think he was going to go practice Quidditch. I feel bad for the equipment."

I groaned internally. Draco only played Quidditch when one of two things happened. A) He was failing to do a mission and needed to take out his frustration on something that wasn't little Gryffindor's or B) he just got super pissed. In this case, it could be a mix of both. He knows I don't want to do my assignment, and he knows that without my knowledge of the "enemy", he'd get nowhere. And we'd both pay for it.

"I think I'll just leave him for now then. Give me a heads up when he gets back?"

A slightly confused smile now replaced the beaming smile I'd received when I'd first come in, and she nodded.

"Thanks Kate, you're the best!"

As I skipped up the stairs, I was 99.9% sure that Kate didn't feel like she was the best. Her boyfriend was peeved and she didn't know why, and her best friend was acting strange and she didn't know why. And a new reason for why I was doing what I was doing came to me. The future of the unborn Elodie depended on it.


	21. Chapter 21:Falsifying Information

Kate, like the amazing best friend she was, came to see me as soon as Draco got back to tell me that he was still sulky and wouldn't tell her anything.

"I just wish I knew what his problem was so that I could help," she finished, and I wasn't sure if she sounded more wistful or annoyed.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. It's got to do with the stupid instructions that _He_ gave to him, and evidently something's not going his way."

Katrina's hand again placed itself on her growing belly, and her eyes grew wide and fearful.

"Oh god. I just wish that that monster would die, so that I wouldn't have to worry anymore."

At least she didn't have to worry about being called on. The only interest the Dark Lord took in Kate was purely informational. He checked up on her through her parents, and other than that had been waiting for her to grow up and marry one of his Death Eaters. Now I imagined his interest in her had peaked again, for she was carrying the child of one of his most promising Death Eaters and was going to marry him. I was honestly surprised that no one had tried to make them get married over Christmas break. Of course, it would have interfered with her parents plans, and they just couldn't have that. There wouldn't be another break until school let out forever, and I just knew that that was cutting it close to the baby's due date.

I had to hold in a laugh at the thought of a minister marrying them during childbirth, just so that they could say that their children were married before the baby came.

"I know Kate. It'll all be ok someday though. I know it will."

Or at least, I was trying to convince myself that it would be all right. Harry seemed convinced that it would all work out in the end.

A few days later, I met up with Harry down by the lake. To my irritation, the mudblood and the blood-traitor were both there. They didn't seem to be enjoying themselves much either though.

"Hey Claire," Harry said as I arrived.

"I thought this was supposed to stay secret, Potter," I hissed angrily.

He shrugged and gave a sheepish grin. "Well Hermione knows everything about everything, and Ron's my best friend. Where I go, they go."

I rolled my eyes in disgust. "And what happens if the Dark Lord decides to go after them for information? Do you have any idea what kind of a risk they're taking by being here?"

Before Harry even had a chance to open up his mouth, the mudblood and blood-traitor were talking at once.

"Of course we bloody know what we're about-"

"We're not going to let Harry go through this alone-"

"Stop, both of you!" Harry turned his attention from his friends back to me. "They want to be here, and I've already tried to keep them out of it with little success. So they stay."

If he was any kind of friend, he'd tie them up somewhere and make sure that they were kept out of danger. That's what I would do. Granted, we had very different views on the right thing to do in a situation, but still, the intent to keep them safe was there. He just let them walk all over him and gave into their demands.

"Believe me, if Katrina was stupid enough to want to get involved in what I was doing, I'd be smart enough to put her happiness second and put her safety first."

"Katrina's also pregnant with your niece," the mudblood pointed out.

I realized that I should maybe stop calling them names, even in my own head. Maybe I could loosen up some and call them by their last names. Even as the idea came to me, I knew it would only cause problems. That's what my brother called them. So I would be forced to call them by their actual names. Bloody hell, I really was going soft.

"That doesn't matter. Even if she wasn't pregnant with my niece I still wouldn't let her in on any of this."

"Only because then it would be known to someone in your pureblood circle that you were a blood-traitor."

"Shut it Weasley!" I growled, my eyes flashing angrily at the same time that Hermione grabbed his arm and said, "Ron!" much the way a mother would say to her child. Or, another voice in my head suggested, the way that a woman in love would chide the man she loved.

"Sorry about that Clair," Hermione apologized.

I nodded and turned to Harry. "So, how are we going to go about getting all the fake dirt on you so that I can give _Him_ what he wants to hear?"

Instead of getting a response from him, he turned to look at Hermione, whose eyes were bright with a sort of fierce determination.

"Why not give him some of the truth?"

"What?!" Harry, Weasley and I exclaimed all at once.

Before she had a big angry mob on her hands, Hermione continued, "Just think about it. If you lie about everything, he's going to figure it out and you'll either end up dead or in a lot of pain. If you tell him some of the truth, then when he learns that something you told him was a lie, but you've told him things that he learned to be true, then you shouldn't be punished because for all he knows Harry's not stupid and lied to you."

I had to admit she had a point. We all did, and as we mulled it over Jewel flew down and dropped a letter in my hand. There was nothing written on the outside, and I had a gut feeling about who it was from.

Inside, the words were as follows:

Slytherin Dungeon  
Snape's Office  
NOW!

It wasn't signed, and it didn't need to be. It was an order from the Dark Lord, and I could feel my hand begin to shake.

"I've got to go," I said quietly.

As I turned to leave, Harry grabbed my arm. "Dumbledore's been teaching me in his free time. If he asks about what, tell him you don't know, just that you've followed me several times to the stairwell and when you questioned me about it I was evasive. Lie about anything else if you need to. But give him that."

I nodded dumbly and headed towards the castle. Snape would have us apparated to wherever _He_ was, and it would all go downhill from there. If there was one useful thing my father had taught me, it was how to keep people from getting in my mind. And I would use that skill frequently in the next few months. I was sure of it.

* * *

**So I wrote two chapters in one day. That's right Leah, two. :P I'd write another chapter for Arianna Selenasdaughter, but I haven't got my copy of Eldest with me at my dad's. But I figured I owed you something, so here it is.**


	22. Chapter 22: No Way Out

I entered Snape's office slowly, and was not surprised to see Draco there as well. Snape was…well, Snape. There were a lot of words that could be used to describe him, and not all of them were nice or pleasant, but he'd been Draco and I's godfather since we were born, and aside from whisking us out of the castle whenever the Dark Lord told him to, he'd never harmed me or talked down to me in any way.

"Come along," he drawled, sounding a bit more annoyed than usual, if not a bit edgy.

Draco and I followed him into his office, and Snape closed and locked the door. He then held out an ordinary looking book, and we both grabbed onto the Portkey. I hated Portkeys. They always made me feel nauseous.

When my head stopped spinning, I looked around and realized that we were in our own house. Our parents stood off to our right, and I couldn't fathom why mom would be leaning on dad like that. All we had to do was update _Him_ on what we'd gathered so far, and then we'd be back in school.

Glancing around, I saw Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus, and a few other Death Eaters before my eyes landed on the Dark Lord. Something in the way he glared at me made me realize that maybe things wouldn't be so simple after all.

Snape went to stand next to our parents, and I saw him put his head next to my father's and begin talking in a hushed whisper.

"Step forward, Clair," the hiss-like voice commanded of me.

Having no other choice, I did as he asked.

"Closer."

Not understanding why I was continually being called forward, I kept going. If I'd had any brains at all, I would've succumbed to my feet's natural instinct to run in the opposite direction.

Upon reaching _Him_, I was promptly backhanded across the face. No one said a word, but mother flinched and buried her face in my father's chest. She was the only family member I would ever love, because she was the only one who wasn't Pro-Voldemort.

Tears sprang to my eyes, but I didn't let them stop me from returning his gaze.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Miss Malfoy."

I remained mute. He was simply working himself into a rage, and saying anything would only make it worse for me. As if realizing that I knew this, he used the Cruciaticus curse on me before continuing.

"I give you one small, simple task, and you can't do it."

My body aching from being crucioed, I gazed at him in confusion.

"But you haven't even asked me what I learned from Potter. I don't understand-"

"Of course you don't! You think that I'm blind, Miss Malfoy, but I see everything. Did you think that you could keep your precious Potter alive and play me? You're a fool!"

I looked at Draco, who wouldn't meet my gaze. _He must've known_, I realized.

"You've blackened the Malfoy name, _blood-traitor_. If your grandmother was still alive, you'd be blasted off the family tree, just like all your other blood-traitor relatives before you. The Blacks are becoming an extinct line."

At this, I saw Aunt Bellatrix straighten up and narrow her eyes. She wasn't really fooling anyone except Rodolphus though. Everyone knew she was in love with _Him_, despite her attempts to hide it.

"What are you going to do with me then, Sir?" I asked.

Everyone in the room suddenly looked alert as they waited to hear my fate.

"Do with you? I'm not going to do anything with you. After Potter comes to rescue you, I may just let you have your status back."

I paled rapidly as his words sank in. This was so not good.


	23. Chapter 23:Bait

Being the bait sucked. I suppose I should've been glad that I was allowed to roam around and that I was in the comfort of my own home, but my home had never been one of comfort really, unless I was locked in my room, and when I wasn't in my room I was being glared at by a member of my family. Really it was only Aunt Bellatrix, and I'd never coveted her approval, so it didn't matter.

My mother was beside herself. Her daughter had become a blood-traitor, just like her sister and cousin had. I knew it had hurt my mother when Andromeda had been disowned by their mother. Whenever Bellatrix slammed their sister, mother had a habit of knitting her eyebrows together and biting her lip. Bellatrix was so self-centered though that unless my mother was to actually say something, she could probably get away with any facial expression she wanted. Bella would probably see it as an ill feeling towards Andromeda Tonks and not to herself.

I had a cousin, Andromeda's daughter, that was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. The Death Eaters hated her. If I survived being the Dark Lord's bait, I hoped to meet her someday. And my mother's cousin Sirius Black. I think Bellatrix was such a huge threat because she perceived the blood-traitors in her family to be a sign of weakness, and wanted to desperately cast their faults away from her. She must've been extremely twisted if she could fall like a disgusting man like _Him_.

For all my bravery, I was still too much of a wimp to call him his real name. The 'V' one that is. I didn't even know what his name had been before he was the Dark Lord with a scary name.

Words carried up the stairs to my room.

"Maybe she means nothing to the boy, my Lord." Those words were spoken by my father, and I flinched. So _He_ was coming to visit me. Well, it had been a week since he'd made me the bait, and we hadn't heard anything in terms of a daring rescue, so it made sense that they'd come bug me now.

The fact that Harry hadn't come for me was good and bad. It was good because it meant that he wasn't putting himself in danger for my sake. But did that mean I wasn't worth it? I felt foolishly insecure over the issue.

"If the boy does not care for her, then that makes me a fool for believing that he did. Do you think me a fool, Malfoy?"

The Dark Lord wouldn't have even had to look at my father to get his point across.

"No my Lord," my father gushed. If he'd said the words any faster, he would've choked on them.

They entered my room then, and I pretended to be extremely interested in the book I was holding open on my stomach.

"If you flip the book around, Miss Malfoy, you may find it's easier to read."

Damn it. There went that cover right out the window. His hissing voice was mocking, and I slowly set the book aside and looked him in the eyes.

"Thank you for that tidbit of information, my Lord. I might have never finished it if you hadn't come along."

"Crucio."

He said it so quietly, and with such a lazy wave of his wand, that it barely hurt. Something seemed off about that though, and the harder I stared at him, the slower he was. I didn't remember being drugged, but I must've been. And it hadn't been by them either. _His _face was angry, my father's surprised. And I swore I heard Harry's voice before the blackness took me.

* * *

**Wow. I keep writing less and less. The joys of being sick. I took tylenol so I wouldn't fall asleep while I was trying to write this. Not much there really. I'm going to try and hurry this along so it can just be done and I can focus on my other stuff.**


	24. Chapter 24: The Order

When I awoke, I was in a strange place, surrounded by a lot of strange people. Harry's face moved in and blocked everything else out.

"Are you alright?"

I noticed a scratch on his cheek, and my hand moved of its own accord to touch it.

"Why. . .?"  
It was an effort to speak. My brain was not interpreting things the way it should be. I vaguely remembered my father and the Dark Lord, and the Cruciaticus curse that I had not felt then. . . I was feeling it now though.

"Why did we come to rescue you? You know, that's a little insulting considering we risked our lives to save yours." His face had backed off a little, and I could see the other people around me; most of them looked angry and distrusting.

"Stand aside Potter," a familiar voice drawled. "She's just woken up after being drugged by a very potent sleep potion, not to mention the physical damage that's been done to her just before it took affect."

A black robe billowed toward me, then a body kneeled beside me. Harry scooted back a few feet, but remained close.

"Severus? What-?"

"Hush now and drink this." He pulled me up into a sitting position, but I was still much too weak to stay there by myself, so he allowed me to lean against his chest while he put the liquid to my mouth for me to drink. It tasted absolutely disgusting, and I choked at first, but afterwards I felt much better.

"Thank you," I whispered to my godfather. I turned to Harry; "Now, what happened? You shouldn't have come – I'm not saying I'm not grateful, but it was a very dangerous and very _stupid _thing for you to do."

A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips. "Well, it seems that your house elf was very concerned about your situation. She told Dobby, who brought her here and told us the details about what had been going on. We came up with a plan to get you out. Holly slipped you the potion, and Dobby apparated us in. It was probably the worst timing, apparating into the one room in the house where Voldemort was. He was too surprised though to react quickly. I grabbed you while Ron and Hermione provided cover, and then we apparated back here."

I was quiet for a few moments. "Umm, where is _here_, exactly?"

"My house," a man said. My head jerked itself in the direction of the voice, and I was met with a pair of brown eyes, eyes that looked just like Bellatrix's. The eyes of a Black. In this case, they belonged to one Sirius Black. "It's a pleasure to know that the line is still producing people who will stand up for what's right, even if it goes against everything the line stands for."

His eyes scanned the room, and at last he found the person he was looking for. "I'd like to introduce you to Nymphadora, your cousin."

A woman with mousy brown hair moved to the front, and walked with Sirius to be nearer to me.

"You look like a Malfoy," she said.

"I don't know what a Tonks looks like, but I assume you look like one," I responded.

A half smile formed on her face. "I like this one," she announced. She stuck out a hand and pulled me to my feet. I swayed a little at first, but within a minute I was standing alright. "Call me Tonks. I hate the name Nymphadora," she told me.

After that I noticed that people's faces had become less angry. Remus Lupin pushed through the crowd and came to stand beside Tonks. He greeted me kindly. "Welcome to the Order," he said. "We are your family now."


End file.
